No Park and Ride at UW Light Rail Station? The Horror!

Seattlest is all about complaining about transportation in Seattle. We invented complaining about transportation in Seattle. We were complaining about transportation in Seattle via pony express when the Duwamish were still arguing over whether to build canoes or kayaks. But this thing in the paper today about the UW light rail station being disconnected from other transit seems a little premature. The charge is that the fictional 520 exchange of the future doesn't connect with it and, furthermore, there's no parking in the vicinity either.

The headline is "UW light rail station an island unto itself," and, no, it isn't an island. The P-I and the University make it sound like the thing is going to be built on a giant spite mound, surrounded by a moat and more razor wire and reinforced concrete than West Berlin. In reality, you'll be able to walk right up to it and onto a train. Yes, walk. Isn't that how you get around the UD currently? Seattlest tries to drive over there from time to time--you can't park. Right now the whole neighborhood is "an island unto itself" and light rail will be a much needed bridge to that island. Can't we just build that bridge and then start worrying about where to park?

From the P-I:

But the already-squeezed and congested university is worried about efforts to create a transit hub on campus -- and has made those concerns known to transportation officials and the Governor's Office, UW spokesman Norm Arkans said.
"You can't look at the University of Washington as an intermodal exchange or station area. It doesn't work," Arkans said. "You can't have people driving here to get on a (light rail) train, because there's no park and ride -- and there's zero chance of putting one here. There's no space."

Nor is there adequate space for buses to load and unload passengers making light rail connections, Arkans said. "There's no room for that."

Because some replacement proposals would decrease Husky Stadium parking, current space could shrink further, university officials say.

You're a neighborhood in a city, UW. Deal with it.

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By Dan in News on April 13, 2007 10:37 AM

Comments [rss]

John Niles

U of W likes light rail just fine. But the University is on record as not wanting Husky Stadium Station to be the northern terminus, a configuration likely to be the case if the ST2/RTID $39 billion 20-year "integrated roads & transit" plan fails to pass with voters this upcoming November 6.

Making the Husky Station an inter-modal terminal for bus and "kiss and ride" drop off connections does two bad things: (1) increases the viability of the Station as a permanent northern terminus, which U of W does not want, and (2) interferes with the already-established design of Husky Stadium that is necessary for Sound Transit to secure the $750 million grant that pays for half the construction cost of light rail between downtown Seattle and Husky Stadium.

Javeed

The UW has been whining about the 520 interchange for about a year now, and I'm tired of it. This nonsense has got to stop with them. I'm with you, Dan.

Seth

Maybe the UW won't need all that parking if people can get there via light rail...duh.

Collin

I would have LOVED this when I went to the UW. I was a commuter student coming in from south king county, and bus service to the UW is less than stellar. Something like this would've been fantastic. It gives students who attend the UW access to more affordable housing options, while having a direct, guaranteed, traffic free, mode of transportation.

Dan

Changed em both, thanks JPF

JPF

I think the station in question is neither the University Street station, nor the University District station, but rather the University of Washington Husky Stadium station. (Both the map and the Sound Transit link above are misleading.) Here's a diagram of the surrounding area: